Canadian Financial Close: C$ strengthens Thursday

By Phil Franz-Warkentin

Glacier FarmMedia|MarketsFarm – The Canadian dollar was stronger on Thursday, as currency traders continued to adjust positions following Wednesday’s interest rate cut from the United States Federal Reserve.

The Canadian dollar settled at US$0.7373 or US$1=C$1.3563 on Thursday, which compares with Wednesday’s close of US$0.7358 or US$1=C$1.3590.

An estimated 489,000 Canadians were receiving regular Employment Insurance benefits in July, which was up by 2.2 per cent from the previous month and marked a 10.0 per cent increase on the year, according to a report from Statistics Canada. The unemployment rate was up by 0.3 points from June, at 6.4 per cent.

Crude oil was stronger, with West Texas crude oil up by 1.40 per cent at US$71.90 per barrel.

The TSX Composite Index was sharply higher, gaining 273.67 points to close at 23,866.27 points.